Pricey town hall embodies town's vision of 'new Marana'

May 11, 2005 - With more than four years from concept to
fruition, Marana officials admit it's been a long and costly
journey to construct a municipal complex emblematic of everything
the growing town hopes to become.

Acting Mayor Herb Kai and other council members joined in
cutting the red ribbon to ceremonially dedicate the new Marana
Municipal Complex on May 3 during an event attended by
hundreds.

Many are singing praises, now, that the complex has finally
arrived and will anchor the future Town Center as a shining example
to the commercial and residential developments soon to sprout along
the sidelines of Marana Main Street.

"It hasn't always been easy and it hasn't always been fun, but I
think we can all agree it's worth it," Kai said during a brief
council meeting just before the crowd flocked outside to enjoy
refreshments and watch fireworks from the lawn.

"Worth it," though, actually means worth $32.3 million.
Following an initial redesign that bumped the cost up
significantly, piece by piece the project has ballooned in both
price and scope since its inception.

During the course of the project, on-site building costs have
risen from $15.1 million to $24.3 million, while off-site costs
have more than doubled from $4.2 million to $9.2 million, according
to a comparison of past and current budget figures. Those increases
amount to a 74 percent price jump when combined.

"Price was always an issue and it still continues to be," said
Town Manager Mike Reuwsaat. "You want to make sure there's a good
expenditure of public funds and that you get value over time. It's
a building that will stand the test of time."

Kai said the multistory, multi-building complex is reflective of
the strength of the community, calling it a "proud symbol" of
Marana. He said the complex furthers Marana's commitment to giving
its citizens the greatest quality of life and the highest levels of
service.

"It's not about just a building here, it's about the area … and
what our expectations are for the rest of community to develop out
over time," Reuwsaat said. "This building is the single largest
public facility, outside of road structures, that the town will
build in its history. This is the town center of Marana."

The complex brings most of the town's employees under one roof
as a one-stop shop for administration, courts and police needs.
It's also home to Marana's fourth town hall and includes a spacious
council chamber room with a high-rise dais where future councils
will lead for years to come.

Thanks to several high-tech gizmos at special request, council
members now have access to an electronic keypad for voting from the
dais, and their microphones feature buttons that can be depressed
while they chat among themselves at meetings.

Also among the special features are video monitors in front of
each council member so they can view presentations at the same time
they're projected onto a large screen behind them.

"It's a lot more user-friendly and useful, which you'll see in
upcoming council meetings," said Information Technology Manager
Tony Casella, who, in August 2003, became Marana's third IT manager
during the course of the project. "It's definitely worth the
taxpayers' money, that's for sure."

Tim Allen, Marana's construction manager who oversaw the
project, said radical changes in building design from a sterile
look to a more radial shape and a drastic increase in square
footage from about 73,000 to 113,000 contributed to part of the
cost increase.

The complex, designed by Durrant Architects and built by
contractor D.L. Withers Construction, rises from 20 acres of farm
fields adjacent to the old town hall at Barnett and Lon Adams
roads.

Allen said infrastructure improvements were added to the
off-site portion of the project in an effort to induce investors to
start buying properties around Marana Main Street, which extends
from the complex's roundabout.

"I think the town council wants that town core to set an example
to the developers to look up to," Allen said. "It would not have
been complete if it had just been the building, itself. This was
the most efficient way to deliver the project."

The town shopped for the site about five years ago and purchased
20 acres of property from Southwest Value Partners, developers of
Continental Ranch, in anticipation of a population boom in the
area.

Based on qualifications, the town hired Durrant to identify the
long-term needs of the community for the next 10 to 15 years.

The town then looked at various options that could have had
Durrant designing the complex before bidding it out for
construction. However, D.L. Withers was soon hired to work on the
design and construction in conjunction with Durrant, based on its
qualifications, not its price.

"The advantage of that was having the company that was going to
build it work with the architect to make sure the design was both
effective and efficient for the town," Reuwsaat said.

At a Sept. 16, 2003 meeting, council members voted to approve a
contract with D.L. Withers, setting the guaranteed maximum price of
the building at $18.2, but that cost has been exceeded, according
to the latest budget reports.

While on-site costs totaled $24.2 million, town officials say
the actual building cost remains at $18.6 million, a slight
increase from the promised $18.2 million.

Allen said early budget forecasts were unrealistic and didn't
include the cost of signs, monuments and public art. Inside a large
atrium lavishly decorated with a black slate floor lies an Italian
glass mosaic of the town seal.

Other perks to town officials in the new complex include a large
dining room, a fitness area and a locker room in which they can
change and shower.

An additional $1.9 million went toward fixtures, furniture and
equipment, while design costs for the on-site portion of the
project inflated from $970,680 to $1.9 million.

Additional on-site costs that were not originally included in
the budget but now are:

€ $338,716 for "miscellaneous fees and per

mits."

€ $65,000 for signage.

€ $481,728 for special systems/tel data.

€ $684,977 for audiovisual and security

systems.

€ $127,430 for public art.

€ $125,000 for a design phase construction management fee.

An earlier breakdown of the budget shows $80,000 going to new
copy machines, $32,280 for new computers, $110,828 for Ethernet
switches and $161,400 for a new phone system.

Costs that pushed the off-site portion of the budget up to $9.2
million included construction of Marana Main Street, which went
from $1 million to $1.4 million and Civic Center Drive, which went
from $1 million to $1.3 million.

Street lighting and electrical costs increased from $300,000 to
$1.3 million. A roundabout in front of the complex that includes a
large monument was budgeted for $150,000 but has risen to
$250,000.

Off-site sewer improvements budgeted at $875,000 have risen to
$1.26 million. Design costs for the off-site portion of the project
increased from $327,000 to $879,267, while a routine paving of
Grier Road budgeted at $275,000 ended up being a $793,701
project.

"We've had a lot of issues on Grier Road with utilities and the
leaking Cortaro-Marana Irrigation District pipe, which was fairly
significant," Reuwsaat said, adding that work on the still torn-up
road should be finished in July. "One of the goals has always been
to do it right, and when you take an older road such as Grier,
there were a lot of 'surprises' that we found."

Additional off-site costs that were not originally included in
the budget but now are:

€ $405,000 for dry utilities.

€ $400,035 for water improvements.

€ $679,600 to place a portion of the CMID

canal underground.

€ $85,000 for road extensions.

€ $10,000 for a fiber optic extension.

A separate portion of the budget includes $405,023 for "other
technical services."

Meanwhile, landscaping costs have grown from $300,000 to
$515,125, according to a budget summary released last week.

A copy of the Jan. 17 budget spreadsheet indicates AAA
Landscape, which employs Councilman Tim Escobedo, was subcontracted
for $316,500 and later received approval for $244,440 in change
orders and another $1,199 pending with $10,000 forecasted to
complete the project. That amounts to $572,139, $57,014 more than
the budget summary shows.

Finance Director Roy Cuaron said he had no knowledge of why
landscaping costs had become so high and had little knowledge of
any specifics of the project's budget.

"I haven't been too involved in the project myself," he
said.

In a recent e-mail message to D.L. Withers' project manager Marc
Thompson, Reuwsaat noted that he drove by the front of the council
meeting room and wasn't impressed with some of the landscaping.

"The last southern live oaks planted in the main planters and
the area around the main planters are not satisfactory and should
be replaced," his message states. "They are not foliated and have
been topped. They look like ball and burlap trees from Texas that
have not been containerized long enough."

The Arizona Department of Agriculture found an infestation of
dangerous imported fire ants on a shipment of oak trees in March
when AAA chose to venture into Texas for its supply, but the
infestation was taken care of, town officials said.

Showing just how picky town officials were getting with the
project, Casella noted in an e-mail message to Thompson on Feb. 1
stating that not all touchup paint in the conference center room
matched.

In the same message, titled "couple more things," Casella asked
for a "black dot key to get into all doors," and a "CAT6
certification report on all jacks installed from ACE," and said he
would like to have a "window and Prox reader installed in the
outside door of 'A' where I enter the building."

"You have to pay attention to detail and, as you can determine,
there was extensive scrutiny to the process to make sure we ended
up with the building that would work," Reuwsaat said.

In a March 15 interoffice memorandum to all town employees,
Reuwsaat expressed frustration with the overflow of change requests
from town staff, saying all change requests must receive his
approval.

"This memo is the second and final request for employees to
follow a chain of command when placing requests for changes or
additions in the new municipal complex," Reuwsaat wrote. "Tony
Casella is currently being swamped by such requests from all across
the town - both employees already in the new building and those who
have yet to move in."

Council members Escobedo, Jim Blake and Patti Comerford, along
with certain senior staff members, constitute the town's building
committee, which met weekly for months at a time to review and give
input on everything from landscaping to security systems to the
stone on the outside of the building.

"This represents, literally, hundreds of hours of meetings and
review and committees and thousands of decisions," Reuwsaat said.
"It's been a lot of work and a lot of scrutiny."

Cuaron said the town issued about $28 million in bonds to cover
the cost of the project. The remaining balance will be paid out of
the town's reserve fund, which has somewhere in the neighborhood of
$20 million available, he said.

Reuwsaat said a few loose ends are still being tied up as the
project gets finished in the coming months, but one thing came
unexpected: Town officials discovered a mishap in design changes
that resulted in a door being deleted from a room inside the court
building.

As a result, court employees are only able to gain access to
their office area by way of a back door. Some expressed concerns
that it could be a safety hazard, leaving employees trapped if the
back exit was ever blocked in case of a fire.

Reuwsaat said the door also is needed for court employees to
gain access to the video courtroom without having to go through the
primary courtroom while it's in session. The door is now being
constructed.

Outside the entrance to the administration portion of the
complex, a large plaque decorates the stone wall. On it are the
names of several town officials, including Bobby Sutton Jr., who
resigned from his post as mayor April 30 after he was indicted on
federal charges of conspiracy and attempted extortion.

Sutton, who pleaded not guilty along with his acquaintance
Richard Westfall last week in U.S. District Court, did not show up
to the dedication of the complex, but council members expressed
disappointment that he couldn't be there.

"Sadly, we are missing a member of the team," Councilman Ed
Honea said.

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